Article ©
2015 by Joyce Mason
When I announced this year
of Radical Reposts, I said I’d pop in now ‘n’ then to share tidbits or
poems, especially when I can’t resist commenting on something. I had an insight
that popped my eyes open wider about the word chyron. It’s pronounced the same way as Chiron, the centaur planet.
I first encountered chyron
a couple of years ago. You see it nearly every day, but many people don’t know
what it’s called:
chyronFrom Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
n. Graphics or words at the bottom of a TV screen usually unrelated to the current viewing content.
The chyron usually contains a moving band with news flashes—often the stock market fluctuations or headlines. You see a big chyron on New Year's Eve if you watch the ball come down in Times Square. According to the official Times Square website, "The 3,685-square foot electronic icon
in Times Square is known to millions worldwide for its signature wavy
LED ribbons and eye-catching curved ticker ..." The ticker ribbons make up the chyron.
I heard the character Mac talk about the chyron in one of the final episodes of my favorite TV program, The Newsroom. She made me aware of the word again, and here’s my insight. The chyron on your TV screen gives you information flashes on the bottom of your screen—therefore at the bottom of your visual attention or awareness. Chiron the planet does the same. It gives information from the bottom of your awareness—often your unawareness—of things that you need to know to complete your quest toward wholeness. It helps you get to the bottom of what issues need healing to move on. Sometimes the information it shares seems unrelated to what's currently going on, but it's your unconsciousness of these matters that's the trouble. Chiron—like the chyron—helps you tune into the news you need to get the full picture.
I heard the character Mac talk about the chyron in one of the final episodes of my favorite TV program, The Newsroom. She made me aware of the word again, and here’s my insight. The chyron on your TV screen gives you information flashes on the bottom of your screen—therefore at the bottom of your visual attention or awareness. Chiron the planet does the same. It gives information from the bottom of your awareness—often your unawareness—of things that you need to know to complete your quest toward wholeness. It helps you get to the bottom of what issues need healing to move on. Sometimes the information it shares seems unrelated to what's currently going on, but it's your unconsciousness of these matters that's the trouble. Chiron—like the chyron—helps you tune into the news you need to get the full picture.
I have no idea how the chyron got its name. (If anyone
knows, please share). But I have to love how language is instilled with subtle
meanings and astrological references.
What are you starting to discover about your Chiron that could
go on your chyron? In the TV show of your life?
~~~
Photo: Watching CNN on 19-Jan-15. CNN makes more liberal use of the chyron than most networks.
